1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of disconnect latches and, more particularly, to a high shock absorbing disconnect latch capable of reliably stopping drawer slide members from becoming unintentionally disconnected, while also providing ease of removal of the slide members and of the attached drawer upon demand.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Drawers are often mounted within cabinets using drawer slides, such as ball bearing slides and the like. Drawer slides permit easy access to the interior of the drawer. The slides maintain the drawer in a horizontal position regardless of how far the drawer is withdrawn from the cabinet. The most fundamental purpose of the drawer slide is to provide smooth, controlled and effortless movement, between the open and closed positions, of a drawer to which it is attached. The slide must therefore have provision for preventing accidental or unintended disengagement of the drawer when the drawer is in the fully extended or open position. A locking member incorporated on the slide assembly is generally used for this purpose. Occasionally however, a drawer must be removed from the cabinet, for example for repair or maintenance.
A disconnect latch facilitates removal of the drawer from the cabinet by disengaging the locking member. This is generally achieved by providing a latch connected to the drawer or, more specifically, to the slide member physically connected to the drawer which latch allows the unimpeded travel of the slide member, at least until a central raised portion (a stop lever) thereof is brought into contact with a corresponding stop found on an opposing channel member of the slide. Thus, as the drawer is opened, it travels unimpeded until the stop lever engages the stop, thereafter preventing any further forward travel. In order to remove the drawer, it is necessary for the user to disengage the stop lever by moving it to a position where it clears the stop. After accomplishing this, the drawer together with its attached slide members is free to be removed from the cabinet.
In early latch designs, the impact force from the engagement of each slide member with its corresponding stop led to a high incidence of mechanical failure of the latch and the opposing channel member. In addition, a sufficiently strong impact force against the stop by the longitudinally traveling latch often caused the rivet used to couple the latch to the slide member to be sheared off.
More recently, disconnect latches have been constructed which resolve some of the problems of the earlier latch designs. One such latch design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,983 to Parvin showing a resilient unitary latch body provided with vertical slots that allow flexing (non-pivoting) of the latch to enable disengagement of the slide member for easy removal of the drawer using downward pressure on an associated lever, and also allow the absorption of shock energy and noise created when the slide member is stopped.
There is a need to further improve the shock absorbing and flexing properties of disconnect latches without compromising the strength and flexibility of the latch over long periods of use. The Parvin latch has only two slots, one of which is intended to be expanded and the other compressed during use, but neither one of which does both. While the Parvin patent suggests adding more slots it does not explain how to do so without compromising the small size, strength, ease of construction and shock absorbing properties of the latch.